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Esko resident wins international teaching award

Lake Superior College art faculty member Victoria Hutson of Esko was recognized as the 2017 Outstanding eLearning Faculty at the annual Instructional Technology Council (ITC) eLearning Conference,held Feb. 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla. ITC only chooses one or two nominees to receive an ITC Award for Excellence in eLearning for Outstanding Faculty. In 2017, only Hutson earned this recognition.

An educator for more than 33 years, Hutson has taught online for 15 years. Since 2001, she has designed and taught multiple art history courses as well as highly engaging online studio arts courses, including digital photography, digital drawing, digital painting, and 2D digital design.

"My late mother, Joan Hutson, was also a teacher, artist, musician and writer with 30 published books," she said. "She taught at St. Ann's Elementary School in Wadena, Minn., and was involved with church music for most of her life. My love for teaching and art comes from my mother. She was the single most influential person in my life."

The ITC award recognizes Hutson's development of more than 200 instructional videos; her focus on providing online students accessible materials and personal feedback (including audio feedback on their visual works); ongoing professional development pursuits; and her commitment to meeting each student where they are at by assessing their pre- and post-skills and personalizing instruction to meet their needs.

"Victoria is constantly evolving as an educator — always with her students' needs in mind," said LSC Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hanna Erpestad. "Victoria is committed to creating online learning experiences that are significant and lasting regardless of what the student's career path is, recognizing that many of her art students will never pursue a career in art. It is not uncommon to see students from health career and industry programs enroll in her courses where they can realize new skills, knowledge, creativity, and awareness."